


Make Ralsei Say "Heck No!"

by ArgentDandelion



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Analysis, Character Analysis, Crushes, Gen, Loneliness, Mental Health Issues, Nonfiction, Other, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22376866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentDandelion/pseuds/ArgentDandelion
Summary: A work that covers the extremes of Ralsei's submissiveness and friendliness, and presents possible explanations.
Relationships: Kris & Lancer & Ralsei & Susie (Deltarune), Kris & Ralsei & Susie (Deltarune), Kris/Ralsei (Deltarune)
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my [Tumblr](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/). Feel free to comment on this article there or here.

Ralsei is a very friendly, cooperative, polite person, who makes to make friends with everyone. Presumably to this end, his speech (much like an anxiety-ridden girl) is stuffed with affiliative (relationship-maintaining) tags and softeners. To be more specific, he doesn’t give even subtle, inoffensive commands, but always requests, and he frequently says “um” and “sorry”.[1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/#fn:2) Indeed, in one sequence he uses submissive/affiliative-sounding cues five times in 55 seconds. Furthermore, Ralsei almost never acts indignant, irritated, sarcastic or passive-aggressive.

There’s something very odd about the extremes of Ralsei’s “niceness”.

## Context

One might conclude Ralsei is simply a sweet, polite pushover, but one should think about the context. He often acts friendly and forgiving (to the point of subservience) when talking to Kris or Susie. His speech pattern seems slightly more straightforward when talking to other Darkners (e.g., Lancer), but one never sees him interacting with other Darkners when a Lightner can’t hear him.

Sometimes, being with Lightners puts him in danger. Though he probably figures sealing the Dark Fountain would be dangerous, and therefore accepts the risk of pain and falling unconscious, sometimes he suffers more than necessary. He can be attacked over and over until he falls unconscious, repeatedly. If one assumes Kris’s SOUL literally exists in combat, rather than being an abstraction, then he can get hurt even if only Kris’s soul is hit, and he never complains about that.

Furthermore, he endures more discomfort and self-sacrifice than his destiny demands. He often obeys (or goes along with) Kris’ and Susie’s will without question, even if it makes him uncomfortable. If the option “Make Ralsei try it”[2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/#fn:1) is selected near the salsa-containing tree stump, Ralsei goes along without question. (although he only pretends to eat the salsa) During the second K. Round battle, Ralsei agrees to what Susie wants to do (assuming it’s an apology) but is instead unexpectedly thrown at the enemy. Though he doesn’t take damage from it, suggesting it’s not as painful as it looks, he nonetheless always looks uncomfortable or startled whenever Susie does this.

He even goes along with Kris’ and Susie’s will when they don’t explicitly order him to do something. Susie says Ralsei can make monogrammed track jackets for the team, and though Ralsei is baffled at this abrupt statement, he agrees. When Kris orders Susie to flirt with an enemy, she says: “Let’s see Ralsei do it.” Ralsei says “I suppose if it can’t be helped…!” and proceeds to give the best flirt he can manage, rather than saying “But, um, Kris ordered you, Susie”. When he considers the possibility Kris is jealous of Susie’s evildoing lifestyle, he submissively offers to find a nice leaf and fan them if they’re jealous.

Something compels him to be nice even to Lightners who are mean, hinder his goals, or refuse their destiny as Delta Wariors (i.e., Susie). For example, Susie and Lancer sell cookies, whose proceeds explicitly go to “kicking your [butt]”. If Kris declines to buy a cookie, Susie insults Kris and lies about buying cookies being for a good cause, and Ralsei says: “(Let’s just buy one, Kris.)” (The parentheses suggest whispering.) In one of the few times he’s (relatively) straightforward and blunt about how he feels, he points out three instances of Susie’s un-hero-like behavior, but soon after that regrets it and says: “Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so hard on her.” In those two instances, Ralsei still wants to please Susie, his loyalty is conflicted between Kris and Susie, or Ralsei, for once, is questioning Kris’s decisions.

Yet, there are still more worrisome parts of his behavior. Kris can stand very close to Ralsei until he blushes, but Ralsei doesn’t move away, nor does he even gently ask Kris to move away. Also disturbingly, if Kris repeatedly attacks the Ralsei dummy during the tutorial, Ralsei says: “W-well if… during our adventure… if you want to hit me that’s OK too!”

  1. Other characters, such as Susie, say “um”, the similar “uh”, and “sorry” as well, but much less frequently. Usually, they use “uh” and “um” to indicate shock or bafflement, rather than using it to couch a request or piece of advice. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/#fnref:2)

  2. (Using “make” might also suggest coercion on Kris’ part, although it could simply be the most compact way to get the message across. “Get Ralsei to try it” requires one extra word.) [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/#fnref:1)





	2. Causes and Conclusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Covers the causes of Ralsei's unusually submissive behavior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on my [Tumblr](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/). Feel free to comment on this article there or here.

As specified in **[Part 1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/190391774377/make-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-1-part-1-of)** , it’s quite odd Ralsei is so cooperative, submissive, and eager to help Lightners even when not explicitly asked to do so. He practically can’t say no, even to absurd or outrageous demands.[1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/190521925651/make-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified#fn:1) Even to Susie, it takes a while for him to become the slightest bit assertive, visibly frustrated with her, or otherwise non-apologetic and submissive.

Why is this so?

* * *

## Option 1: Lack of a Choice

Ralsei may believe he has no choice but to be a Delta Warrior, so he must act as hero-like as he can. He apparently thinks hero-like behavior is cooperative, polite, and peaceful, at least relative to Susie’s aggression.

To Kris, he says:

> “As heroes we have the power to make a peaceful future. So from now on let’s try to avoid FIGHTing OK?”

Later, after listing three instances of Susie’s aggression and how bad it was, he tells Susie:

> “Susie…Whether you like it or not…You’re a hero. One with the power to bring peace to the future. Could you please start… acting like one?”

Furthermore, he strongly believes getting by without fighting will ensure a happy ending to their tale, and if not, the result will not be “favorable”. Ralsei therefore might think he must be the best hero possible to ensure the best ending, or perhaps to ensure a happy ending to the tale at all.

**Counterpoints**

As much as he talks about non-violence, he does goes along with Kris’s orders, even if it’s to beat up people not even affiliated with the Spade King’s armies. Regardless of whether he beats people up, he remains polite and cooperative.

* * *

## Option 2: Delta Warrior at All Costs

It’s also possible Ralsei believes he does have a choice to be one of the Delta Warriors, as a “prince from the dark”. He believes serving Lightners is the only way for Darkners to feel truly fulfilled, and Seam and the Spade King corroborated part of Ralsei’s claim. Ergo, being one of the Delta Warriors would not only let him assist Lightners, but be able to interact with two of them a lot, and so feel very fulfilled.

However, Ralsei isn’t the only “prince from the dark”: there’s also Lancer. (If he didn’t know that at the beginning, he surely learns it early on in the journey.) More specifically, as Lancer has actual subjects, he has a greater claim to the position. If Ralsei makes himself a valuable, pleasing party member, Kris and Susie won’t go searching for other princes from the dark.

The interpretation is suggested in the following dialogue:

> **Lancer:** Just walking along with you guys…Feels nice. Like I’m doing something… important.  
>  **Ralsei** : That’s because you’re alongside the Lightners, Lancer. Our purpose—Darkners’ purpose—is to assist them. It’s the only way we can feel truly fulfilled.”

Strangely, Ralsei doesn’t exactly look happy when he says “It’s the only way we can feel truly fulfilled”, suggesting his desire is deeper than just wanting a fun adventure.

* * *

## Option 3: Friend Desperation

Overlapping with Option 2, Ralsei may be so desperate to be friends with Kris and Susie that he doesn’t have any boundaries or social standards. In fact, he says: “I’ve been waiting alone here…um…my whole life for you two to arrive. So…I’m really happy to meet you.”

Though Ralsei would logically be friends with the other Delta Warriors, his sheer conflict avoidance suggests he thinks he has no other options. It might be something like “country niceness”: when a countryside kid has only ten playmate options, alienating any of them is a big loss, necessitating extra-polite behavior. Most of the time, he acts as helpful as he can, deferring to Kris’s judgement. If “…” is selected when he talks to Kris before exiting through the great door, Ralsei says: “Kris in the end what you choose is up to you. As long as you’re happy with it I’m happy too.”

Furthermore, he obeys even strange commands, such as Kris telling him to “offer his services” to Lancer and Susie during a fight with them. (he offers to braid hair) Most worryingly, in the first Lancer encounter, Ralsei even says he’ll “protect the heroes with my life!”. [2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/190521925651/make-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified#fn:2)

Oddly, Ralsei is helpful even when his teammates are mean to him or go against his beliefs. Although Susie is consistently aggressive, uncooperative, insulting and otherwise rude, Kris, too, can be mean to Ralsei. (dropping the manual, attacking the dummy repeatedly, making Ralsei eat the stump salsa) Though Ralsei points out multiple times that “FIGHTing is unnecessary in this world” and he believes it will give an unfavorable ending, he nonetheless obeys Kris when told to FIGHT, and even equips the Ragged Scarf, which improves his fighting ability.

He might act strange to Kris and Susie not only because they’re his only (even first) friends, but also “cool kids” he puts on a pedestal. After all, Kris and Susie aren’t simply two people his age who arrived in the kingdom, but two Lightners, worshipped like gods, who he believes are the prophecized “heroes of light”.  
This contrasts with his blunter behavior to Lancer. After he attacks with two Hathies, Lancer asks how much money he gets after the battle, and Ralsei says he doesn’t get any because he lost. He also acts unusually blunt when pointing out Lancer hasn’t made the thrash machine yet: although he’s talking about something both Lancer and Susie were working on, he was addressing Lancer.[3](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/190521925651/make-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified#fn:3) One of the few times Ralsei gets angry is when Lancer taunts Ralsei on the swear-word name of their team, as he tells Lancer: “OK, fine! We can keep the name! I just won’t say it.” However, there’s also a time he was clearly, loudly angry at Susie: on the third post-designed machine encounter, ( _see[video](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DxYT_PmwQ1b0&t=MGI1OWNmZGM3NGM4ODM4OTY1N2NjMDE4NjMzM2MwMzJlOTFjNzgzOSxkWDg5OXJkWg%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F190521925651%2Fmake-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified&m=1)_) Ralsei says: “Fine!!! We don’t want to be bad guys!!!” (with three exclamation marks, even)

**Counterpoints**

Although Lancer is not one the “cool kids” (if that’s synonymous with Lightners), Ralsei’s different behavior towards him might not have anything to do with him being a Darkner, less cool, or less suitable for friendship. Ralsei might act differently to Lancer because he’s an obstacle to their goals, annoys them, or mocks them. Rouxls Kaard himself describes Lancer as “more annoying than a fistful of fleas!” and a “strange and irritating darling”.

* * *

## Option 4: Crush on Kris

Ralsei might be so obedient and eager to please because he has a crush on Kris. According to [Kidshealth](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fkidshealth.org%2Fen%2Fkids%2Fcrushes.html&t=ZThhMmI1ODY1NGUxZTgzMTdlNDE0NDc0ZjllNDY3NWE3ZDA3NDI1MCxkWDg5OXJkWg%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F190521925651%2Fmake-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified&m=1), people might feel shy, giddy, or both around a crush. Concerning giddiness, he believes Darkners can only feel true fulfilment by serving Lightners, and he is quite eager to serve Kris. Concerning shyness, Ralsei acts submissive, polite, eager to please, and shy or socially-anxious around Kris. As mentioned in Option 3, he says: “Kris in the end what you choose is up to you. As long as you’re happy with it I’m happy too.” His submissive-polite speech pattern could indicate nervousness around his crush, and a lack of experience with his feelings and how to act around crushes. Social inexperience is quite plausible: he has barely, if ever, socialized with anyone, since he says he’s been “waiting his whole life for” Kris and Susie, alone in his castle.

At multiple points, Ralsei blushes or acts lovestruck while Kris is physically affectionate or complimentary to him. He blushes when Kris hugs him in the battle tutorial against the dummy. He also blushes when Kris gives the White Ribbon to him, and he asks Kris if he looks pretty. (If Susie’s in the party at that point, he still blushes, but asks Susie instead) More convincingly, when Kris stands really close to Ralsei, Ralsei blushes (but doesn’t ask Kris to move) and when Kris repeatedly attacks the dummy, Ralsei says it’s okay if Kris attacks him, too. (while also blushing) He also amusedly says Kris doesn’t need to donate to the tutorial masters to get him to call Kris “honey”, and that’s something married couples, not friends, call each other.

He is also polite, submissive, and waffling to Susie, cares a lot about her, wants her on the team, and goes along with her plans when it’s not outright counterproductive (e.g., being launched at K. Round). However, he still treats Susie differently: he doesn’t blush when talking to Susie, nor does he anticipate Susie’s needs as he does for Kris. (The closest he gets to that is mentioning he “WAS going to bake a cake later” when Susie alludes to her hunger over three sentences.) This suggests he doesn’t have a crush on Susie, too.

It’s likely that this crush is combined with putting Kris on a pedestal or being intimidated by then. Seam says “[Lightners] were like gods to us.” and the Spade King continues with the godlike characterization, telling Ralsei to “perish with the pathetic Lightners you worship!” An NPC also points out the Delta Warriors took the Ragged Scarf in the chest without even asking, and claims it’s a “gift to help you defeat the KING!” but also points out they’re “potentially criminals”. When Kris does the wrong thing, such as repeatedly hugging Ralsei in a combat tutorial, he might be too intimidated to say no, especially for harmless actions. Furthermore, Ralsei might lack integrity or feel insecure at the start, making him especially socially malleable.

**Counterpoints**

Though blushing in certain circumstances (e.g., saying Kris can hit them) could indicate Ralsei is lovestruck and possibly a masochist (see below), blushing can also show shame or anxiety. Therefore, Ralsei might blush when saying Kris can hit him due to his anticipation of Kris’s needs and inability to say no combining with discomfort on the matter.

It’s unclear whether he enjoys being hugged in general, hugged by people he likes, or specifically being hugged by Kris. After all, he said he’s never hugged anyone before, so he, logically, would never have been hugged back.

* * *

## Option 5: Social and Physical Masochist

It’s possible he actually likes some combination of getting hurt, insulted, or bossed around, as well as serving Lightners. This is unusual: other Darkners also respond unhappily to getting hurt or insulted, such as Jigswaries getting attacked by Susie or Susie being mean to Bloxer. Even Lancer, as much as he likes Susie, doesn’t act submissive or servile towards her. There’s no evidence Lancer likes getting bossed around or insulted, and he doesn’t like getting hurt. Lancer even imprisons Susie to prevent her and the other Lightners from fighting (and potentially killing) his dad: Ralsei never poses such an obstacle.

Although the Rudinns are unhappy fanning Susie and Lancer, Ralsei offers to fan Kris just in case they’re envious of an evildoing lifestyle. If Kris throws away the manual, Ralsei offers to make a better one next time. The biggest piece of evidence is that, when Ralsei says it’s okay if Kris hits him, Ralsei blushes.

This is one of the less likely interpretations. Although he has a strangely high tolerance for others being mean to him, he does eventually ask Susie to stop being mean to him. However, he’s still a pushover: he entices her into simply being nice to him on a journey to save the world by offering cake, rather than for the sake of decency.

* * *

## Option 6: Slightly Insane

Mental disturbance is another less likely possibility. After all, Seam says “Around here, you learn to find ways to pass the time…or go mad like everyone else.” If Seam is right, descending into madness is a risk for Darkners, so Ralsei could be mildly insane.

Still, even without supernatural explanations, his behavior and beliefs could easily become erratic if he was alone in the quietude of his castle for long enough, especially without a variety of fun activities. Seam may describe the Dark World as a “prison”, but Ralsei’s kingdom is a prison within a prison: except for two hedges in the tiny Castle Town, there apparently aren’t any living things there but him. Even hermits have richer nature surroundings, and animals for company. Yet, unless Ralsei climbs a cliff to the starting zone to meet with the spoon-like hazards and the sleeping dust lumps, he doesn’t even have animals: just the dummy based off himself.

## Conclusion

Although there’s definitely something psychologically weird about Ralsei, it’s hard to figure out what, since there are many ways to interpret his behavior. Some explanations can even be combined: he could, for example, be happy about inevitably becoming a Delta Warrior, solitude eroded his social boundaries (if he ever had any), and he’s simultaneously in love with and intimidated by Kris.

There’s not enough data to say which interpretations are true, or how many, or to what extent. But one thing’s for sure: Ralsei ought to put up some boundaries and say “heck no!” a lot more.

* * *

**Related Reading**

  
[Flowey and PTSD series](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20165746/chapters/47775952) (also analyses the causes and symptoms of strange behavior)

[Are Lightners Mind-Controlling Darkners?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24033457/chapters/57826507) (An angle that may explain Ralsei's strangely submissive behavior)

* * *

  1. When the Spade King tells him to “perish with the pathetic LIGHTNERs you worship”, Ralsei says: “Sorry, but we’re not going anywhere!” Even when responding to the villain of the story who wants to kill him, he sounds almost apologetic. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/190521925651/make-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified#fnref:1)

  2. He says this as if he’s not a hero himself. It might mean he knows he’s a not one of the prophecized heroes, or that he doesn’t have a high opinion of himself. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/190521925651/make-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified#fnref:2)

  3. > Lancer: The WHAT machine?  
> Ralsei: The machine… ? We had a whole sequence about it…?  
> Lancer: Oh that. Yeah we’ll make it at the last minute.  
> Ralsei: You two should REALLY start working on it earlier…

[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/190521925651/make-ralsei-say-heck-no-part-2-as-specified#fnref:3)





End file.
